Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

DraftFCB recently announced a raft of new hires, and it might have to add a few more names to the list after Stella Travel Services, the international company behind the United Travel and Harvey World Travel brands, and Sony Electronics signed up with DraftFCB Media.

After a four-way pitch, Stella Travel Services appointed the agency to look after its $7 million annual media investment. And Draft also picked up media planning/buying work for consumer electronics giant, Sony, which was looking for a media agency that could keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology (and also its various product releases).

Derek Lindsay, managing director at DraftFCB Media, says both Stella and Sony operate in categories that have seen massive shifts in retail trends and market conditions over the last couple of years and he's looking forward to "sharing our insights and delivering innovative media solutions that keep them ahead of the pack".

Jodie Burnard, head of marketing and creative at Stella, says travel is one of the most competitive retail categories and the whole industry has seen massive change in recent times, particularly in the way people research and purchase travel products.

"For this reason it was vital for us to find an agency that was not only innovative and passionate about our business but also has a depth of media resource to help us compete in a crowded market. DraftFCB Media easily ticked these boxes."

These two big new clients come on the back of what's been an excellent year for the agency, with DraftFCB Media picking up four golds and six silvers, as well as the highly coveted Best in Show Award for the Whitcoulls Books Initiative, at the CAANZ Media Awards.

And in other account news, Lemonade Design, fresh from its victory on the Eden Park rebrand, has also won a competitive pitch to fully redesign, develop and build the 100% and Appliance Connection websites. Both brands are part of the Appliance Connexion buying group, which is made up of over 120 stores around the country.

Business manager Tony Reardon says the requirement for each store to have their own presence in the competitive appliance market has created some interesting challenges in web development and some equally interesting solutions have come out of it.

Speaking of limonata, experiential PR company Lily & Louis has got its hands on the Sanpellegrino business, which includes Acqua Panna, S.Pellegrino and Sanpellegrino sparking fruit beverages.

“We are really excited about working with Sanpellegrino as the opportunities for growth are huge," says Jacqui Ansin, managing partner, Lily & Louis. “Oh, and we love bubbles of any sort."

Lily & Louis have been in operation for just 10 months and has Kingan Jones, Turet Knuefermann, Kiwi Icecream, Shine Limited and LG as clients.

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On Monday, Whittaker’s launched its latest novelty chocolate-lolly mash up with a chocolatey answer to retro bakesale treat coconut ice. The Coconut Ice Surprise chocolate has a twist though, 20c from each block goes to Plunket – a charity which New Zealanders agree is a worthy cause. However, to relate the chocolate to the charity, Whittaker's has built the campaign around baby gender reveal parties, causing a backlash from the public who argue gender norms have expanded beyond blue for boys and pink for girls.

Genius From Elsewhere

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With over 10,000 fires occuring in South Korea residential homes every year, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance has created a flower vase that doubles as a throwable fire extinguisher. The hope is it will raise awareness to the public safety issue of home fire safety.

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Advertisers have stopped buying ads on YouTube after their ads appeared on children's videos where pedophiles had infiltrated the comment section.The New York Times investigates the comments.

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The internet has been up in arms about a supposed 'Anti-LGBT' emoji, featuring a rainbow flag alongside the "no" symbol. However, according to Time, the emoji causing offence is actually "an unfortunate implementation of the standards that govern how text is displayed on our device".

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This year, Super Bowl audiences were treated to a 45-second video of Andy Warhol eating a Burger King Whopper. It was certainly a campaign unlike any before, but did it work? Adweek takes a look.

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As of 1 March, Queenslanders will be able to include one of five emojis alongside their licence places. The options—the laughing-crying face, the winking face, the sunglasses face, the heart-eyed face, or the classic smiley face—are courtesy of Personalised Plates Queensland.

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Why we like it: Infomercial-style ads take us right back to the glorious days of old when we were sick – but not too sick – home from school and got the sought-after opportunity to watch daytime TV. There was literally nothing greater in an eight-year-old's life. So for that reason, these ads get a big tick from us. There's humour, and, despite what often happens when radio hosts venture into a visual format, it doesn't miss the mark.

Who's it for: House of Travel by the in-house team

Why we like it: Who doesn't love when brands bring back a break-out star from one of their earlier campaigns? To be completely honest, we didn't recognise Lucy on first glance, but after a quick trip down memory lane, we placed her as Miss Lucy from that singing and dancing retro campaign House of Travel launched more than a decade ago. We like the continuity of this ad and watching a man choke on his drink after a snapback from a woman doesn't hurt either.

Who's it for: Joblist by Badger Communications

Why we like it: Sonia is a dead-set hero. We are introduced to her glamorous, visor-wearing face peering out from behind a freshly-levelled hedge and the next thing we know she's no ordinary arborist. We watch Sonia as she looks into that shrub's soul and reveals the schnauzer-shaped masterpiece of her own creation. We never knew we needed someone with Sonia's skill set in our lives, but now we know we do. Thank you Sonia for showing us the light.